Duo's Perfect Soldier
by Ryoko21
Summary: Heero leaves Duo for a while, then comes back and reveals that he's a vampire! But what if the rest of the Gundams boys aren't normal? How will they deal? Slightly Yaoi, nothing bad. Finished and reposted in full. The plot is the same, but there's some ed
1. Chapter 1 Duo

Well, the war's over. Yeah, that's right, all us little gundam boys get to fly to our respective homes with a nice little pay-off from the doctors or the government or someone out there. But see, there's where the problem lies. We all had to go home. Separately. Alone. Except for Trowa and Quatre. What, you didn't think my blonde little buddy would let his knight in shining armor get away, did you? That little brat could convince a snake to give up it's scales if he wanted to. And then Trowa wasn't exactly happy with the idea of going back to being a suicidal clown again. So Trowa moved in with Quatre and convinced the circus to set up on Quatre's land three or four times a year. And, just in case Trowa got a little homesick, Quatre bought him a whole damn zoo! That's love for ya, putting wild and dangerous creatures in your back yard. Not that the beasties would ever hurt Quat. Trowa would never allow that, but it's still gotta be freaky. Then I guess Wufei isn't technically alone either. Sure, he's got his own apartment, but he's not the only one who sleeps there, if you know what I mean. Wufei's not an extremely social sort of person, but there have been rumors that a certain long-haired blonde former-prince has been spending a lot of time with him. Not really surprising, knowing Wufei's strict sense of honor and his strange encounters with Treize. I kind of had a feeling he would seek out someone who could understand him, and Zechs was probably the only person who completely could. Me? Well, I didn't hang around long. Three days after the war ended I took the second part of my motto and ran for it. Nobody even knew I was going until I was gone. Hell, I didn't even know I was going until I reached halfway to no where. But that's what life's about, right? New places to see, new stories to tell. And if it just so happened that I didn't have to finish an old story because of said new one, well, who was I to complain? The guys were nice enough, but I didn't need them at my back all the time, watching me. Trying to cheer me up or help me out. Especially since they all knew about my... crush. Don't laugh, the God of Death gets crushes too. He just fell a little hard this time, that's all.  
Guess you're about as confused as Hell right about now, huh? I suppose it might help if I started at the beginning. Or perhaps focal point is a better word, because I'm not really sure where the story begins, and I've already said that it never really ended. But there is one person the whole story revolves around.  
Heero Yuy. My perfect soldier. Or, at least, I wanted him to be mine. I had every intention of confessing my feelings for him as soon as the war ended. I knew that if I did it before then I would have been refused. Flat out denied. Hell, I might have been shot at. Heero would have thought I was trying to distract him, which would have brought him to the conclusion that I was an enemy, and, in the usual zero-system manner, I would have been eliminated, by either death or abandonment. So I waited for him to come back that night, right after the last battle. It was the point at which I knew it was finally over for ever, and I was ready to start a new life for myself, one without death and destruction. I wanted to be normal, happy, and, most of all, with the man I loved.  
But he never came back. Finally sick to death of worry and anxiety, I "borrowed" Quat's car and went to look for him. Of course, I had my own wheels, but... Heero had them. It was an antique, custom motorcycle that I had built out of spare parts and a shell of a motorcycle that got lost in transit to a museum. It had some new stuff and some old stuff, but it was basically the same as it had been when it was first built, I thought. The damn curator of the musem couldn't have done better when it came to fixing and restoring things. It was my pride and joy, and I had gone a little wild with the paint job, not worrying quite so much that it looked old on the outside. It was jet black, with leather seats and the handlebars molded to look like horns. It had tiny black wings jutting out the back of the seat. "Duo's Devil" was written in blood red letters on the sides of it. I often wondered how many drivers I made piss their pants, seeing that thing coming in the rearview. Still, I knew it was just a bike, and I wasn't much more attached to it that I got with my other possessions. I had simply put a lot of time and effort into the bike, so I kept it close most of the time, hoping it wouldn't get crushed by a mobile suit or destroyed in an explosion. It had been in a warehouse near our last safe house so, when Heero felt the need to get away, I lent it to him.  
Ok, he took it. Whatever. It was the wings that gave it away. They were sticking out of a bush and shining in the lights of the car when I went looking for Heero. What, did you really think I'd be able to wait around until he got back to proclaim my everlasting lose? Yeah, that lasted about half an hour before I gave up and went to find him. Still, I don't know what possessed me to look for him at Relena's, for I was pretty certain they weren't a couple, but look I did. And that's where I found them.  
I prayed then. I pray a lot, but it's not the hand's on knees praying. It's really more of a monologue in the back of my mind. Course when you look at it that way I've prayed for, "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" a lot in my life. It's not like anyone was ever really going to answer me. God doesn't watch out for my kind, so it was never really God I was trying to reach. Somewhere deep in my soul, I had always hoped that my message would be relayed to Father Maxwell or Sister Helen. Just knowing they were listening to me was comfort, even if they couldn't help. I prayed that he wasn't going where I thought he was. I prayed that his shadow wasn't sneaking across the lawn. I prayed that he wasn't sneaking up to Relena's room. I prayed that she wasn't turning on the light and going to him. I prayed that they weren't embracing. By the end there it was more like denial than prayer. I waited as they embraced and I waited as they walked away from the window to where I couldn't see them. I waited almost an hour. When the lights went out and Heero still didn't sneak out, my heart stopped. It can't really beat when it's been torn in two, now can it? I went back to the safe house and went to sleep. Tears wouldn't come, so I didn't make them. I slept most of the next day, contemplated suicide a lot, and went hunting for something to eat. The day after that some guys came to take Heero's things. Just barged in like they owned the place and took everything that belonged to that asshole who was too good to even come say goodbye to his comrades. But, hell, if I were screwing the queen of the world I wouldn't be getting my own bags either. They took Heero's laptop and what little clothes he had and his armory of guns. But they didn't get his stuffed bear. It was old, ancient even. A completely cotton deal with no mechanics in it, something that hadn't been done for nearly fifty years. One of its eyes was missing, and it was ruffled, torn, and so dirty it looked close to black when it should have been tan. But, still, there was something soothing about it. Something deep and calming. Innocent and loving. Something pure.  
I snagged it out of the corner of Heero's closet before they got to the room. He always hid his bear, maybe because he was embarrassed by it or because he was afraid it would be stolen or damaged. Always pulled it out and slept with it after a rough mission, though. It was the most personal possession he had. I didn't really want to steal the bear, but the was something inside me that thought Heero would feel almost violated if someone else touched his bear. I know that includes me, but I thought he'd feel worse if it were a complete stranger than if it were me. At least, I hoped he would. Afterwards, I half thought about running down and shoving it in one of the trunks for the guys to take, knowing Heero would miss it, but then my temper finally flared. If he wanted his bear back he sure as fuck could come and take it from me in person. That little statement kept me alive. I had to live so I could give Heero his bear back. Yeah, I know, kind of dumb when I left and made sure no one could track me a day later. I just couldn't take the sympathetic looks Trowa was giving me, the way Quatre kept trying to get me to do something or go out, and the way Wufei was actually trying to be nice. Worst of all, I couldn't take being so close to them together. Heero and Relena. The knight and the princess. I could think of things they might be doing and it just made me sick with jealousy. Because I never saw them. I think maybe if I had just seen them together, happy, I would have been alright. I wouldn't have been happy about it, but I would have been able to leave Heero and move on with my life. His happiness would have meant more than my obsession. But I never saw him again. And since Relena left the public eye and moved away, I could only assume he went with her. I never gave up searching for him. Even months after the war I searched for some sign of him on the net, but nothing came up and I wasn't willing to hack Relena's computer and see if he was there. I wasn't quite ready to do something illegal to find him. Close, but not quite there. Besides, I was still hoping to find him alone. I mean, really, I knew they were together, but he had to get out on his own sooner or later, didn't he? So there was, what, a fifty-fifty chance that I could talk to him alone? I mean, I wasn't going to try to steal him away from Relena, but I needed to know, to really know, that he was happy.  
But that was all after I left. I just couldn't take the pain any more. Everywhere I went I found something that reminded me of him! He was just freaking everywhere! So I gave up. I surrendered. I grabbed my stuff and took a shuttle to no where. It wasn't like I could have stayed much longer anyway. Trowa and Quatre were heading for his estate at the end of the week and Wufei had already went off to the mountains to, "...properly lay Nataku to rest," then he was of to the Preventers. Quatre had, of course, offered me a room at his house, but I think even he knew I would rather eat my foot than accept. I drifted for about a month, drinking and staying in run-down apartments, watching the news every single night just to possibly catch a glimpse of the man who took my heart and the princess who took him. However, the problem with apartments is they only exist in populated areas. And the problem with populated areas is people. And the problem with people is sooner or later, they notice you're not exactly normal and then you're not welcome anymore. I finally settled down after this guy calling himself a vampire hunter tried to kill me. Crazy nut job. It specifically states in the vampire hunter contract that one must only hunt vampires. Lunatic. That's when I found my haven. I was thinking about going back into the scrap-yard business, but I wanted my own place. I put in a call to Howard and he told me about one of his buddies who had recently died. He left a scrap-yard to his son along with a house and about eighty acres of land. The only problem was that the yard was on some sort of plateau way up in the mountains, and it was too steep for anything but trucks to get in or out of and too gusty for any planes to safely fly or land. So somebody would have to drive a large, heavy truck down steep, winding paths with thousands of dollars of scrap or equipment in the back. But, when you've piloted a mobile suit, not just in space but on Earth and under water, driving a truck is nothing. They don't call me Shinigami for nothing. And... Hell... I could never pass up a bargain. I also bought my bitches at that time. Now, most ladies would be horribly offended by the man of their life saying something like that, but not my girls. 'Course, it helps that they can't understand a word I'm saying, but what the hell, right? I mean, they don't care and it makes me feel big pimpin' or something like that. Then again, though, you really don't get bigger pimpin' than a Gundam pilot, do you?  
Wing and Scythe, the smallest two puppies in the pound. Yeah, yeah, I know, kinda mushy for a former pilot, but it couldn't really be helped. Wing has long white fur with blue eyes, but not cobalt like Heero's, almost sky blue. She's also got a pair of chocolate colored marks on her back that look like wings. Scythe is dark brown, almost black in some places, with chocolate eyes. She's got a scar shaped like a scythe over her left eye.  
I never really intended to get two puppies at the same time, of course. Honestly, when I went into the pound I was looking for a cat. It was right before I started my job in the mountains, and I'd been in need of some company, but I wasn't really sure I could handle the responsibility. I mean, I had never had a pet, and half the time people had to yell at me for forgetting to feed myself. So, I had figured that cats are pretty resilient creatures, and if I did a bad job taking care of the little guy he could just run away and take care of himself. Not so with puppies, who will stay with you through thick and thin, but are completely dependant on you.  
But what was I to do? Underfed and skittish, they only had two days left. How could I turn away those big eyes, looking longingly at me, the way I had so often looked at the rest of the world? I bought them, and that was the end of it. Or so I thought. There was a lot more to dog ownership than I had originally banked on. I had to buy food and toys and beds and all kinds of junk they eventually chewed through anyway. I must have bought six books before I left the city just on puppy care. Luckily for me they were both mixed breeds, so they were pretty sturdy and didn't have any of the defects that the purebreds often run into. Unfortunately, something in that mixed blood of theirs was huge, because they grew to be about thigh height. I was actually pretty lucky I had moved to such a remote place, because those two needed more room to play and frolic than they could have ever gotten in the city. Their training was another challenge to me, and required yet another trip to the bookstore. I knew when I got them that I would need them as watch dogs, but I had seen enough of my friends torn apart by dogs to know I wouldn't be able to handle either of them coming back with blood on their jaws. Luckily enough the girls were smart, and they picked up on things pretty quick. I read some books on training police dogs to get the general idea, but I was pretty sure that the girls were smart enough to know what I wanted. So I rigged up some dummies and, using commands of "Bad!" and "Good!" taught them what to do when a stranger came around. I even gave the dummies guns, because I wasn't willing to let my dogs get shot if some nut decided to shoot 'em. So they learned to bark at strangers, corner them, and even bite their feet, but they wouldn't do any real damage unless they saw a gun or a knife. And they tore the hands off both the dummies with those, so I didn't even want to think of what they'd do to a real person. I kept searching for Heero, but my hope was dwindling and I only spent a few hours a night looking for him. I also had his bear cleaned and repaired. It wasn't cheap, I'll tell you, to find someone who could clean an antique toy in this day and age, and I had to go half way around the world to find him, but he did damn fine work. I didn't want Heero to come back and find the bear a mess, though now I wasn't sure he'd even recognize it. Still, the guy guaranteed me it'd last another hundred years, more if we sent it in for repairs every fifty. After a while I eased back into friendship with the other guys. I really missed Quatre and was glad to be able to see him. He helped get my business going and kept me up to date on the latest gossip. Trowa called me when things got hectic with Quatre. Even with all the animals around he sometimes got lonely, and I was more than happy to have him. A lot of times he'd come take a vacation at my house if he was feeling claustrophobic in the city with Quatre. We'd walk and look at the full moon together. Wufei came out to my place a lot, too, but he wasn't as much fun. He always came when work was getting too stressful, to recharge himself. He'd spend most of the day sleeping or meditating in the sun. Sometimes I was sure he did both at the same time. But it was nice to have his company too, and when he was up to it I always harassed him. We'd have rollicking good fights. Even without Heero, things were good. Except for the gaping hole in my heart that I had come to know would never be filled. Oh well, I'd live. I still had to give Heero his bear back.  
Pathetic. I know. 


	2. Chapter 2 Heero

I was cold. It amazed how a few simple pills could take me from near freezing to feverish in ten minutes. I knew, for I had counted the seconds between pills and the heat. It was always ten minutes flat. I was cold and hungry. I guess they never told these guys that even people like me need to eat real food, even if I didn't need as much as normal people.  
I was cold and hungry... and lonely. I wanted my bear. When they had gone to get my things they had not come back with my bear. I was both upset and relieved at that. Relieved because they hadn't touched it, my prized possession. They hadn't soiled or torn it. I wouldn't put it past them to use something as simple as a bear against me. I was upset because I didn't know where my bear was. As far back as I could remember I had kept my bear with me, safely guarded, and now he was gone. But more than anything, I wanted my Duo. He became my Duo the moment I laid eyes on him, even though I never told him. He was so beautiful and graceful and... so damn strong. I have to cling to that. I need that inner strength, or I might just break. Duo's not afraid of anything, he could take what I'm going through with a smile. Even if it is killing me bit by bit, Duo'd survive. I need him even though I know I can never have him. He'd hate me if he found out the truth. I couldn't take that kind of hate, not from him. I don't even deserve to cling to him, not after all the horrible things I've done. I'm a murderer, a cold unfeeling bastard. And what's worse, I'm not even human. I think I was going to risk it that night, the night after the last battle. I was going to tell him I loved him and what I truly was, then hope that he could still stand to look at me. But I was so tired, and so weak, that I just had to stop at Relena's for a quick bite. Yes, I bit the Queen of the World. I'm a vampire.  
How does one get to such the blood from the queen of the world with no one the wise? I actually did it the first night I spent at the school. She seemed average to me and I wanted to scare her away from me after that incident on the beach. However, all she remembered was a "dream" of me coming into her room at night. Her young mind romanticized it into thinking we were lovers, though I had never done anything to promote that idea. By the time she figured that I was sucking the blood right out of her body, she was so obsessed with me that she didn't care. That was why I didn't kill her. Not only was she the first normal person I had met that didn't care I was a vampire, she was also a free meal ticket. There were three reasons I stopped to see Relena, and it certainly wasn't because I wanted to see her more than Duo. Firstly, the battle had taken a lot of my strength, and I'd been hurt several times, so I was extremely hungry. I didn't want to risk even looking like I would attack Duo, because I would rather die than do that. Secondly, if I didn't drink for an extended period of time I would begin to look as bad as I felt, and I wanted to look and feel good for this. I expected it would be the most important night of my life. Well, perhaps the second most important. And the third reason was, of course, to tell her whatever she had thought we had was over, and I would not come to see her again. She was saddened by this news, of course, but I think somewhat relieved as well. Perhaps she had grown up in the time we had been together and finally realized that her life and mine simply wouldn't mesh. Whatever the reason, we parted on good terms, but I doubted we'd keep in touch.  
With all these things to lay to rest, I could only hope Duo would understand my... "borrowing" of his motorcycle. I knew how important it was to him, and I was very careful with it. I simply didn't want to deal with the mess and hassle of stealing a car, and I knew Duo's bike wasn't registered, so he wouldn't alert authorities to my activities. If anything, he'd come after me himself. I almost hoped he did, because then I could be sure that he hadn't left town, of which I was desperately afraid. I didn't want him to get away before I could talk to him. Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm, I must have taken just a hint too much blood from Relena, for she fainted when I finished. Hoping not to make a scene, I turned out the lights and put her to bed, wishing despite myself that I could slip in beside her. Or, better yet, beside Duo. The heavy meal in my stomach, along with the battle that I had been in not a day before, was wearing me down. I needed rest, but I wanted to get to Duo first. I wanted it finished, so I could start my new life without any delay. But it wouldn't start that night, or any night for a long time after. That night, while I was leaving Relena's house, groggy and lazy from being full, Dr. J's goons had nabbed me. I had hoped, naively, that they would give me this one night to rest and settle my affairs. I hadn't intended to desert now that my end of the bargain had been fulfilled, but I also didn't like Dr. J. I hadn't wanted to go through any more of his tests alone. When the thugs came at me, I tried to reason with them, but they weren't listening, and jumped me before I had a chance to defend myself. Dr. j had studied me for years, and with my weakened state I was no match for them. They loaded myself and Duo's bike into a nondescript van and drove for several hours to one of Dr. J's facilities. Once there, I was under their power. Dr. J said that he was going to turn me human, as per our agreement, and I really didn't want to slow him down, though I desperately wanted to get in touch with Duo. So I didn't fight them, even though my instincts were screaming at me to get away, and within a week I was too drugged to know which way was up, let alone how to escape. I was weak. It took me almost two months to figure out that they weren't trying to turn me human, that they never were. They kept taking blood out of me and putting more in. I hated feeding, hated drinking something else's life, but at least when I did it I was sure the other would live. What they fed to me was dead and had been dead for a good while. They held me down and pried my jaws apart, then poured blood in until lust over took me and I drank on my own. There were six of them holding me down and at first it was Dr. J that poured the liquid in. Even though Dr. J only helped once, the image of him standing over me, sneering, while he poured blood all over me in my struggles, haunted me. When I begged my captors to stop, it was his name I used most often. Then there were the drugs they used to keep me weak and test something in me. I don't know, maybe they were all just sadistic. The pills gave me fever and chills, made my stomach cramp horribly, and made me try to vomit even though it was impossible. Worst of all were the hallucinations. Some where just lay-overs of my feedings and beatings when the orderlies had to hold me down and take blood. Some where of the war, of the girl and her puppy, of the people I'd killed, of the other pilots being killed. But the one's I couldn't stand were of Duo.  
Sometimes he'd come in and kiss me, a harsh, passionate kiss, but his lips were dead. Then he'd smile evilly, throw me back against the bed, and ravage and bite me. It wasn't too hard to realize it was a dream, though, because it was hard for me to believe Duo could ever be so cruel. The proof was on my body, because there were never any marks on me save the ones I made myself. Other times I'd go to Duo and tell him of my love, show him what I was, and he'd turn away in disgust. In a fit of rage I would bring my hand back and hit him until his dead and hollowed eyes registered in my head and I knew I'd killed him. This dream was harder to disbelieve, because I was often afraid of my own strength and temper. I spent many a night searching my room for Duo's blood and hoping the orderlies hadn't dragged off his body. I knew couldn't stay in here much longer. It was like living in hell. I had to escape before I lost my sanity. I was desperate, and in my desperation I became calm and cunning. Luckily for me, the orderlies had become lazy with me in a drugged and disoriented state. They stopped bothering with extra shackles and double guards. Sometimes they didn't guard me at all. I slipped a tiny piece of wire into my pocket when one of the orderlies was dumb enough to leave their cart within my reach, then picked the lock on my room when he was gone. It was so simple that I cursed myself for not doing it before. I should have run for it the moment I was out of my room, but I needed to know what they were torturing me for. So, instead of giving in to temptation and running for the exit, I ran deeper into the heart of this horrible place. No one expected me to get out of my cage, or for anyone to get this deep into the lab, so it was painfully easy to get to the restricted part of the lab. I will never be sorry I did, because what I found there chilled my blood. It was a nursery room for test-tube babies. Except, on closer examination, all the babies had fangs. And some of them weren't even human, some were dogs and cats and other animals. But they all had fangs, they were all vampires.  
They weren't trying to find a cure, they were trying to make a whole damn army!  
I destroyed every last tube. I trashed the computers. Then I set the room on fire. I don't think it helped matters much, but it made me feel better and it distracted them so I could get away. While they dealt with the fire, I snuck down to storage and found my personal items. But it was a long walk to the storeroom, and I was exhausted by the time I got there. It was proof of how weak I had become. I grabbed my guns and hopped on Duo's bike, hoping to get a few miles behind me before having to ditch it. It hurt, to know that I was going to abandon the only thing I had left of Duo, but I didn't have a choice. The bike wouldn't be able to get through dense forest, but my only hope was to get ahead of my pursuers while I could. I was just outside of the compound when I heard the sirens blare and they let loose the dogs. 


	3. Chapter 3 Duo

It was close to ten-thirty. Wing and Scythe were laying down in their corners in the kitchen, sated from a big meal of deer-steaks. I know, I spoil them, but I had brought down a deer earlier that day and I'd never be able to eat two hundred pounds of meat alone. I stretched and yawned. My muscles were sore from a full day of working on parts for a company on the other side of the mountain. I always thought it was strange, having a lab so far from any city, and the place always gave me the creeps. Still, I wasn't rich enough to pick and choose who I sold parts to, and they paid well. Abruptly, Scythe raised her head and perked her ears, followed only a second later by Wing. In a flash they were both out the door and barking like mad. I chuckled to myself, thinking this was just the perfect finish to my day. I drew a long breath and pulled a hand gun out of the kitchen drawer, checked the bullets, tucked it in my waist band, and headed out the door to greet our new guest. I left the house to the sound of both girls barking like mad. Somebody was in the yard, trespassing, and the girls weren't happy about it. It only took me a minute to find the guy, he was sprawled out on the grass panting like mad while the girls circled him and growled. I wondered what the hell this guy had tried to do, walk up the damn mountain? I had just about marked this guy off as stupid but not a threat, when he pulled a gun out and aimed it at Wing. Scythe was on him in a second, latching her jaws onto his wrist and, if not causing him to drop the gun, keeping him from aiming. I kicked the gun out of his hands a second later. I grabbed his wrists as he flailed weakly beneath me and ended up sitting on his chest, pinning his hands above his head. I told the girls to heel before turning to my captive. "Well, buddy boy, what can I do for you today? It's not exactly the best way to make friends, trying to shoot a man's dogs, but you tell me your name and what you're after and I'll..." I stopped dead as the man looked at me. His eyes were haunted and panicked, they darted trying to look everywhere at once. His face was thin and gaunt, hands shook from exertion, and there was more than a little dirt on him. Still, I recognized that face. It couldn't be!  
"H-Heero"  
His eyes turned to me with a faint glimmer of recognition before the sound of dogs barking in the forest drew him back into a panicked state and he struggled anew. He was wearing his usual shorts and tank top with a white lab coat over top. The clothes were tattered and torn and there was blood all over him. I knew that whatever barking thing out in the woods that had my love so panicked was not going to get past me and hurt him again, but I also knew that if Heero didn't stop struggling he'd hurt himself. I couldn't get off of him because I knew that he was panicked enough to run and I wasn't sure I could chase and protect him at the same time, but I was probably further injuring him with my weight. Quickly deciding on a course of action, I held his wrists down with one hand and snapped my fingers in front of his face. His eyes darted to my fingers and then to my face. I began to speak to him in a slow, almost rhythmic tone. "Heero. Listen to the sound of my voice. You have nothing to fear. You are safe. You have no pain. You are warm. Nothing will harm you. You are loved. You needn't fight. You are safe. Relax into my voice. You are warm. I'm here to protect you. You are loved. Let your problems slip away. You are safe. You are warm. You are loved"  
I let my voice trail off. Heero's eyes were half shut and his body had gone lax. It was odd, he should have been asleep, but I didn't have time to think about it. Whatever had been coming was just about here, and I needed to go give it a proper God of Death welcome. I turned around just in time to see something that looked like a dog the size of a small horse jump the fence and attack Wing. He grabbed her by the neck but her long fur kept his teeth from sinking in. Scythe was on the thing before I even got there, biting and taking huge chunks out of it, but it wouldn't relinquish its hold. That's when I got pissed. Bad enough that this thing scared the hell out of my love, now it was trying to kill my dog? I could feel my eyes blazing as I stalked up to the thing, grabbed its jaws, and wrenched them apart. The lower jaw broke, spraying blood all over the place. It backed up, then prepared to attack me again. With what, I don't know. It rushed at me, and I wondered how in the hell this thing was still standing. When it passed me, I got a good look at its top jaw. Only after seeing the fangs did I realize it was a vampiric mutt.  
"Perfect!" I hissed before jumping over another attack and slamming my weight down on the dog's back. Before the mutt could do anything, I grabbed its head and pulled until I heard the bones snap and the tendons give way. I tossed the severed head over my shoulder, instantly putting the dead monster from my mind, and went over to Heero and my dogs. Quickly checking to make sure the girls weren't hurt, I picked Heero up, grinning at him in hopes of comforting him. He still seemed a little on edge, be it a very groggy edge, but he didn't protest when I began to walk back to the house, Wing and Scythe trailing at my heels. As soon as I arrived I took Heero up to my room. The grogginess was fading and he began to shift in my arms. Instead of laying him on the bed I decided to sit him in the old sofa that ended up in my room for lack of better place to put it. I set him down and took a step back to give him some air. He shook his head and tried to focus his eyes on me. "Duo?" he managed to whisper. "Uh-huh," I replied calmly, settling myself on the edge of the bed to give him some time to adjust. He suddenly threw himself across the room at me. I was so shocked that the next thing I registered was his head buried in my chest as he sat on his knees in front of me. His shoulders where heaving and he was clinging to me in an almost painful, desperate manner. I put my arms around him and pulled him into my lap. He seemed to conform against me, trying to get as close as he possibly could. He was shivering, sweating, and burning up. His face was flushed and I knew he had a fever, but I was really worried about how injured he was. "Heero? Heero, look at me," I stated. Tentatively, as though he were afraid I might have left when he wasn't looking, he raised his eyes. "It's still me, buddy," I told him and he seemed to relax a bit, "Buddy, we needed to tend those wounds. I don't know about you, but I don't want your guts all over my carpet," I said, smiling gently. He nodded and rose to his feet, backing away from me a few inches. It was only when I rose and felt a tug on my hair that I realized he had a hold on my hair. He was holding so hard that his knuckles were turning white, and I realized I wasn't getting my hair back. I looked from my hair to Heero, who was wearing an almost guilty look on his face, and smiled. "It's ok, hang on to my hair if it makes you feel better." I realized this was a strange sentence coming from me, since I almost never let anyone touch my hair, but the sheepish look of relief that he gave me was more than enough to make up for it. Now, back to the problem at hand. I couldn't see any of the wounds through the dirt that covered Heero. He must have been running for days to get in such a state. Speaking of his state, what could have happened to him to make his a nervous wreck? Apparently he had not been with Relena, so where the hell had he been?  
"Heero, I need to get you out of those clothes so I can so I can see your wounds, alright?" I asked. Heero nodded and proceeded to try and shrug off the jacket one handed. His struggle was useless, there was no way he could get out of the jacket one handed and with god-only-knows how many injuries. Slowly, I reached out my hand and began to pull the jacket off him. Heero stilled and let me pull the jacket completely off his left arm, but jerked when I got to his right. Deliberately, I moved his left arm over to where his right was holding my hair, showing him that I could get the jacket off without needing him to let go. He switched hands and I finished removing the jacket. There were scrapes and bruises all up and down his arms. I couldn't help but hiss my breath out when I saw them. Damn, that had to hurt. Heero tried to lift his arms, I realized to take the tank-top off. However he stopped, almost whimpering in pain only halfway. His shirt and shorts were just about torn to pieces and I realized he must have taken the jacket off to keep it from being ripped, then wondered why. "Damn, Hee-chan, you really did yourself over, didn't you? Here, the clothes are beyond salvageable, just let me cut 'em off," I told him and waited for a small nod before getting the scissors. Heero wasn't exactly thrilled at having the scissors so close to his skin and flinched a couple times, but I managed not to cut him. I looked him over and found lots of cuts and bruises, maybe a separated shoulder, and a couple of fractures, but mainly he was exhausted and dehydrated. After I was assured he wasn't going to bleed to death, I steered him to the shower. Knowing how horribly embarrassed I would be to see him nude, and how bad Heero would hate me for it later, I put him in the shower and told him to throw his underwear over the top. I had to laugh as I caught them. There had never been a doubt in my mind what was under those skin-tight shorts. Briefs. It only took ten minutes for Heero to finish his shower. He stepped out as soon as I handed him the towel. The door was barely open before he toppled into my arms. I set him on the toilet with a sigh and began to bandage all the cuts I could. Then I picked him up and carried him to the bed. When I set him on the bed he didn't immediately let go of my neck. At first I thought he was going to have another one of those breakdowns, one that I would have time to properly calm him from, until his arms constricted around my neck hauling his head up to my shoulder. His breathing was erratic, coming in short little gasps. His face was only inches from my neck, his mouth was open, I could feel his breath. His teeth brushed against my skin and he jerked back as though he had been shocked and pushed away from me. It all happened so fast my only thought was, "What the Hell"  
When I returned to my senses, there was Heero, his back pressed against the headboard of my bed, his knees pulled up to his chest, his face in his hands, sobbing brokenly. Instinctively I tried to sooth him, reaching toward him slowly like a frightened child. "Sh, sh, hush. Easy Heero. It's alright, it's ok, you're safe. Don't cry..." I said as I reached out and touched his arm with my fingers. "NO!" he yelled, his head coming up and his whole body jerking in the other direction. I pulled back and he stopped trying to get away. Ok, new tactic. "Heero, babe, what's the matter? I'm not going to hurt you, you know that. Tell me what's wrong. I'm here for ya," I cooed. Wrong again, I guess, Heero looked as if I slapped him. Giving a heart wrenching moan, he buried his head in his knees again, shaking his head in protest. "No, Duo, no. You can't! You can't! I'm not worthy, I'm evil, don't you know that! No, no, no, no, no!" he repeated over and over. I was stunned, but at least he was talking to me. "Why not?" I asked him simply. His eyes came up to meet mine. There was so much pain and fear there that all I wanted to do was hold him, but I knew I couldn't. What was he afraid of? Me? Didn't he know that I'd never hurt him? He did, didn't he?  
"I-I'm not really a person Duo. I-I just tried to bite you! I'm leech and a blood sucker and...and...and a vampire!" he said with a choking sob and buried his head back in his legs. Heero-Vampire. Vampire-Heero. Heero the vampire. The vampire Heero. Vampire the Heero.  
It took my mind a moment to connect those words, but when it did hope took wing and soared toward the heavens. Heero wasn't human, he was a vampire, maybe, just maybe.  
"I-it's ok," I told Heero, placing a hand on his shoulder. He stopped crying long enough to do something like snort. "That's what I love about you, Duo, your humanity. I love how human you are, the way you feel and love and..and...I just love you for being so human. I don't think I could live without your humanity in my life," he told me. Hope did a nose dive and broke it's neck upon impact. Heero loved me. Heero loved a me that was human. What if he found out that the real me wasn't human? 


	4. Chapter 4 Heero

Duo forgave me. Duo forgave me for not even being human, for stealing the life out of people, for being evil. He was so naive, how could he just forgive and forget? Couldn't he understand what a horrible creature I was? Couldn't he see that I had almost hurt him in my thirst and greed?  
He was human. That was his only flaw. He could feel for someone like me, he could forgive, he could love, because he was human. How could I ever compete with that? How could I even think of tainting him? But I didn't want to hurt him by just leaving. Maybe I wouldn't have to. Duo said he forgave me, but that didn't mean he would still want to be around me. As I looked at him, his expression was sad and he seemed to be very deep in thought. His violet eyes weren't really focused and he wasn't smiling. The loss of his smile in itself seemed to an earthshattering change.  
But he suddenly came back to himself and turned to me. The grin was back. Everything was right in the world once again. Duo leaned toward me and I suddenly found myself wrapped in his embrace. Everything seemed to slow. His heart was pounding against my chest. The blood was rushing through the veins in his neck. He was pulling me close, my face moving to his shoulder. My fangs were descending, my head was moving to the vein. "NO!" I screamed and tried to wrench myself from his grip, but this time he held me firm. I struggled, but I couldn't get away. I wanted his blood so much it burned, but I couldn't hurt Duo! I found myself crying as I finally gave up my struggle and leaned against him, my jaw clenched tightly shut. It was then that I realized Duo was murmuring to me. "...it's alright. You've been running a lot and you're metabolism's bound to be high. I know you need this. It's alright, I'm giving it to you. I'll tell you when it's enough, you don't need to worry. It's alright. It's alright"  
"It's not alright! I'll hurt you Duo! I don't want to hurt you! I won't! I won't! I"  
"It's not like I'm giving you much of a choice here," Duo said. I couldn't believe him. How stupid was he? Couldn't he see how close I was to sucking his blood out of his neck through two tiny puncture wounds?  
Unexpectedly, Duo released me with one arm. I thought he might have finally given up, but I was wrong. He raised a hand to his neck and created one long scratch where I would have sank my fangs in. Blood dripped down his neck. It was too much. I latched on to the wound and sucked eagerly.  
Duo tasted like nothing I had ever had before. His blood was rich but sweet. Like wine. But it was different in other ways, too. It seemed to fill me up more and I found that I wouldn't have to take as much as I usually did. Bitter tears of regret for the pain I was causing my love cascaded down my cheeks, but there was nothing I could do. I was too weak to stop. Duo, however, seemed totally ignorant of the whole situation. Instead of crying out in pain, he began to stroke my back tenderly and coo reassuring words in my ear. He wasn't afraid of me. He was willingly putting his life in my hands. The thought made me want to cry out anew. He was so fragile, what if I hurt him? What if I couldn't stop?  
I tried to stop three times even though I knew I wasn't done. Duo simply shook his head and held me down. It seemed like forever before he gently pulled back and allowed me to stop. I had taken a lot of blood, Duo was pale and shaky, but he still managed a small smile at me. "Feel better?" he asked. I was too upset to properly reply. "Hn"  
"Heh. Back to normal I see. Well, I have couple things to do. Just yell if ya need me," he said and turned to leave. "Duo," I called. "Yeah?" he said turning back. "I-I'm still hungry. F-for real food, I mean. Could you"  
"No problem, man, I'll bring up a little something in a couple minutes. Just no complaining about my cooking." "Alright," I said as Duo left the room. I was drowsy after he left, being in a real bed after days of catching a few minutes of sleep on the ground and months of nightmare infested sleep in my cell, all my body wanted to do was eat and sleep. But I was far too afraid. I knew, somewhere inside, that if I went to sleep I'd wake up back in my cell, or Duo would change to Dream-Duo and come hurt me, or I'd wake to find him dead on the floor, his blood on my hands. Those thoughts alone were enough to make me shiver in fear while tears leaked down my face. So I stayed awake and had time to think about just how pathetic I was. Sitting in Duo's bed, in Duo's house, too weak to get out of bed, too scared to stop crying, too insane to go to sleep. I had already endangered Duo, hurt him, stolen his blood, and become an all around burden. And I hadn't even had the guts to tell him I loved him. I wasn't the perfect soldier anymore. Everything I had just realized reinforced that thought. Dr. J had been able to teach me to perfectly control my body because he had said that it didn't matter what happened to it, because I was already dead, and nothing could kill me. He promised that if I fought for him in the war then he would give me my life back once it was all over. He would make me human. I could have a normal life. A family. A love. When I found that Dr. J had lied, I stopped believing everything he taught me. I couldn't shut down the pain, because I needed it to tell me what was wrong with my body, because I was going to be stuck in it for a very long time. I couldn't be emotionless, because the only emotional bonds I was going to get would be formed with humans who were deceived into thinking that I was one of them. There weren't any missions left. There was no way to say, "Just keep going and soon you'll be a human and you can forget about all of this. No more blood on your hands every night. No more being an outsider. You'll have a family. You'll have Duo..." It was all a lie. There was no hope. I would never have Duo.  
My train of thought was interrupted by scratching noises coming from the door. I jumped slightly and turned to look at the door, freezing in shock and fear when I saw it. Two furry dog-muzzles peaked under the door. Four paws, two brown, two white, clawed at the carpet, trying to get in. I wanted to scream. The dogs that had been following me were here, trying to get in. I froze, wondering wistfully if perhaps I had fallen asleep, and this was a dream. Suddenly, I heard Duo's footsteps in the hall. I tried to scream for him to run, but there was something in my throat and all I could do was moan. Then the noses and paws were gone, and I wondered if they had ever really been there as Duo opened the door. He was carrying a large tray of sandwiches and four sodas. He kicked the door shut as he walked in and set down the food. Duo helped me sit up then sat at the end of the bed as we both ate. It was quiet, more because we were both too tired to speak. I was through with my fifth sandwich when I heard the scratching start again. "D-Duo!" I whispered harshly. Duo didn't seem to notice the sound when I called him, so I frantically motioned to the door. "Oh man, this is driving those two crazy," he said calmly as he rose and went to the door, "You don't mind do you? No one's visited here in a long time"  
I didn't know what to say so I remained silent and tense as Duo opened the door and said, "Behave," in a commanding voice before coming back to sit beside me. A large white dog bound over to the bed and sniffed, her tongue lolling excitedly. She was large and beautiful, nothing like the dogs that had chased me. I almost had to laugh at my own fears. Putting her front legs on the bed to get a better look at me, she sniffed once at my hand, threw Duo a quizzical look that he answered with a nod, then licked me and disregarded me, bounding off the bed and over to Duo to beg a bite of sandwich. The second dog that entered was just a hair bigger and a dark brown color. She entered cautiously, her eyes darting from me, to Duo, to the other dog, then back to me. Assuring herself that none of her friends were in danger from me, she lowered her head and slowly padded to the bed, ready to react in an instant to any violent movements. Carefully, she pushed herself up onto the bed and sniffed at my hand, doing a more thorough inspection and even nosing my palm. I dared to gently stroke her cheek and she looked up into my eyes. There was a flurry of movement and the next thing I knew she was laying across my lap waiting for me to stroke her ears, which I did and she laid her head on my lap. Smiling, Duo rose to leave the room, the white dog following after him. He paused, casting a glance back at the dog on my lap, who raised her eyes at him but made no attempt to move. "Slut," he teased good naturedly, the dog raised her head and licked his hand in apology, but stayed with me. "Well, Heero, since she's gonna be sleeping with you, I had better introduce her. This is Scythe, and that little white blur over there is Wing. I've got some paperwork to do, so you two try and get some sleep, kay?" he said and exited the room, leaving the door open in case I needed him. Laying back down, Scythe shifting so she lay beside me, I slowly drifted to sleep, knowing that Duo would be here when I woke up. This truly was real. Unfortunately, when I woke up, I felt like I was back in my cell. My entire body burned like it was on fire and there was a pounding in my head that just wouldn't go away. Where was Duo? Had he left me? Had they taken me back? Everything seemed so dark. I realized, suddenly, that I couldn't see anything because my eyes were still closed. Slowly, I opened them, uncertain of what lay beyond. I was relieved to find myself still in Duo's room, only several things had changed while I was asleep. First, the dog was gone and the heavy blankets on the bed had been replaced by a thin sheet. Second, the towel I had on earlier had been replaced by a pair of shorts I didn't recognize. Third, there was a cold compress on my forehead and a bowl of water on the bed stand, and Duo's chair had been pulled up next to the bed.  
Had I really slept through all that? I wondered, but it really wasn't all that unbelievable, given the amount of drugs I had been given over the last few months and the time I had spent running for my life the past few days. The thought of drugs brought a wave of memories that I didn't want, and I suddenly had the overwhelming urge to find Duo. I stood, but a wave of fatigue and dizziness hit me and I was forced to sit back down. I rose the second time, slowly, and walked into the hall, leaning heavily against the wall for support and balance. By the time I got down the stairs my legs were shaking from exertion and my vision was starting to blur, but more than that my mind was starting to panic. Where was Duo? Did he leave?  
Why didn't he tell me?  
Did he tell me but I couldn't remember?  
Did something happen to him?  
Did I do something to him?  
Did I hurt him?  
Was he.  
I shut down that train of thought before it could end, it being simply to painful to consider. I managed to move a few paces further and was relieved to hear Duo talking in the kitchen. "...yes, I'm sure! I let him drink my blood! Heero is a vampire and he's sick... Well apparently vampires get sick, I'm pretty sure he's not weak and feverish just for the fun of it... Quat, I really have no idea what to do here, it's not like I can take him to a doctor or anything. I-I think they might have really messed him up with those drugs... Dammit! I don't even know what they did to him! ...yeah, I'm going to take him out soon. He's so weak, I don't know if he can stand the amount of sunlight that would seep into my room. I should get going, it'll be dawn soon. Make sure you bring Trowa and get Wufei to come. I need all the help I can get. Oh, and bring some explosives. Reap some vengeance and all that jazz... Mm-hm, it sure does shed a whole new light on what we've been through with him in the past, even explains a few things... Yeah, well, see ya soon," Duo said and hung up the phone, finally noticing me. So many emotions ran through me as Duo smiled and said good morning. A little anger that was soon wiped away by fear that I would reenact my dream of killing Duo accidentally...betrayal that he couldn't keep the secret I had concealed all my life...fear that he would take me out into the sunlight and let me die. Even though the sun couldn't kill me, it could burn me horribly and, in my weakened state, those burns might be fatal. Which was why I had hidden in caves and under the lab coat while I ran from my pursuers. But worst of all was numbing pain and hopelessness. Duo couldn't accept me and was going to kill me. And yet I still loved him. I didn't realize I was walking until we were a few paces away from the back door. I tugged at the wrist that Duo was holding, but was too weak to get away. After a pitiful attempt to break free, I gave up. If Duo wanted to kill me, so be it. Which is one more reason I was so surprised when Duo made a sharp left into a closet. Stunned, I simply stood there in the hall while he came out with a heavy wool blanket, draped it over me, then picked me up. I tried to struggle in his arms while he adjusted the blanket to cover all of me until he said, "Heero, knock it off. The sun is already up and I won't risk you adding to your injuries. Now be still"  
I went limp in his arms. Duo wasn't going to kill me? But why would he take me outside? Was he going to leave me somewhere? But that didn't make any sense. I felt Duo walk out of the closet and heard him open the door. The sun was already up and even the little bit of light that sifted in through the blanket burned. Soon, however, I felt Duo stop and fumble with something , then a door opened and closed. He set me down and I began to pull the blanket off, but Duo stopped me. "Just a minute, Hee-kun, there's too much light in here," He said and I heard the creaking of wood before he picked me up again and walked down a set of stairs, then set me down again and closed something. This time Duo pulled the blanket off me. My eyes adjusted instantly to the total darkness. The first thing I found was that we were in a sort of basement. It was a little but cool and musty, but it was an ideal place for a vampire to heal, since I tended to heal better underground for some reason. The second thing I found was the lumpy mattress Duo helped me over to. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as Duo's bed, but it would do. The third thing I saw was a small cooler. "There, does that feel better? Vampires don't like sunlight, right? This used to be a storm-cellar before, but it never got a whole lot of use. There's food and water in the cooler over there if ya get hungry. I have to go back up and work, but I'll be back down as soon as I can. Ya want me to send Scythe down to keep you company? Man, it can be spooky down here all alone"  
"Duo?" I wondered hesitantly.  
"Yeah"  
"Does Quatre hate me"  
"No! Why would you think that"  
"People hate vampires. I kill people. I'm evil"  
"No, you're not. Heero... Why didn't you ever tell us about this? That you were a vampire"  
"You would have hated me"  
"No, we wouldn't have. We don't now and we wouldn't then"  
"  
"It must have been so lonely for you... Heero, you don't have to be alone, do you understand me? No one blames you for something you couldn't control. We won't desert you. I won't leave you, Heero. I won't ever leave you," Duo said, then rose silently and left. Tears of loneliness and pain streamed down my face. "Yes, you will, Duo. You'll die and leave me all alone. It will hurt, Duo. You'll hurt me and loving you will only make the pain worse. It hurts, Duo, it hurts..." 


	5. Chapter 5 Duo

When I went to check on Heero later he was asleep, but his fever was up again. I spent a few hours trying to get it back down. When it did go down he suddenly got the chills, so I put Wing and Scythe under the covers with him to keep him warm. Lord knows how much I wanted to crawl under the covers with him, but I had to get some food into him so I went back to the house and made some soup. The storm-cellar is inside an old shed on the property. I was thanking God for it since the house didn't actually have a basement. I knew that the sun couldn't kill him, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt him. I wasn't really afraid that he would die from his sickness, but vampires could slip into a coma-like state for years if their bodies were under too much pressure. I really didn't want to wait that long and I didn't like to see Heero suffer. So I woke him up long enough to swallow a few spoons of soup, then sat beside him and stroked his hair. When Quatre and the others arrived late that night, it was a godsend. Quatre took over all the cooking because he was the best cook and knew what kinds of food Heero would need. Wufei made herbal teas to wash the drugs out of Heero's system and combat his raging fever and chills. Which left Trowa and I to go hunting and take care of the scrap-yard.  
Heero got worse the first couple of days to the point that he was delirious. Trowa and I had to take blood from animals and feed it to him, but he didn't want it even if his body begged for it. In the end it took all four of us to hold him down and pour the blood into his mouth while Heero screamed. His words will forever be etched in my memory. "No! No please, Dr. J, don't! You promised I wouldn't have to kill anyone! No more! Please, no! Duo help! Get me out of here! Duo! I don't want to hurt anyone! Please! Duo"  
I never want to hear those words again, to feel so helpless that I'm right there and can't do anything to save him... Never again.  
After about four days Heero came back to his senses, but he still didn't want to drink any blood. When we were alone, I asked him why. "I don't like killing," he replied and I almost couldn't help but gape. A vegan vampire. Who woulda guessed?  
"Heero... everything has to eat. It's the natural order for the predator to kill the prey. I know it's not pretty but"  
"I won't think of humans as mere prey"  
"Uh... well... that's good," I said, utterly confused, "but what does that have to do with anything? I mean, humans aren't really prey"  
"Then what do you expect me to eat?" he asked, bristling in annoyance. "The same thing you have been for days; animals"  
"But... I can't take blood from animals. It's bad"  
"Animals die every day, it's a natural part of... well... nature. It's not like we're bringing a live animal down here. They don't even suffer. It's just blood"  
"But you had to kill someone to get that blood! I feel like I'm stealing their soul"  
"You're not steeling a soul, and while I can't support killing... everybody's got to eat"  
"But I eat people! Don't you get that? Humans, Duo, these are people we're talking about"  
"And I told you, we're not feeding you humans. It's just animal blood. If you want human blood you're on your own, because I need most of mine and..." "But animal blood doesn't work. I know, I tried it," he replied, looking utterly confused. "What animals did you use?" I wondered. There were certain kinds of animals that could be eaten and certain kinds that couldn't, just like plants. "Cats and dogs when I was younger, and a cougar when I was out in the forest. I couldn't drink the stuff, though, it didn't do any good"  
"Hee-man you were drinking from the wrong animals. They were predators, you need herbivores or at least omnivores. You can't consume plant life, so the animals you consume have to have consumed plants pretty recently or the blood won't have enough of the right nutrients"  
"So...I took all those lives...needlessly?" Heero said, his face ashen. If no one had told him about the animals, then he must have been consuming humans for all those years.  
"No, for the first ten years of being a vampire you need human blood to be in your system. Human blood is the most... well, almost the most nutritious. The closer you can get to your own species, the more of the correct nutrients the blood will have. You can even feed from another if the other has fed recently. But, for the first few years, it's probably best to feed off of humans. They generally don't miss a pint of blood or two. I guess Trowa and I just guessed you had been a vampire for a long time, but since you don't know any of this I'll assume not"  
"How do you know all this?" Heero asked me innocently, without a hint of suspicion. "I-..." What was I supposed to say? "I'm not exactly human and I know all the aspects of a vampire except how you managed to hide it from us for all this time?" No good, how about, "I left the bath tub running!" I yelled and bolted up the stairs. Not one of my best escapes, I'm afraid. It was the end of the week when Wufei and Quatre finally deemed Heero partially recovered. We decided that we should have a small celebration between all of us because of it. I decided that it would be a good time to reveal the truth to Heero then. Well, actually, I decided if I didn't do it then I'd probably never get up the guts to do it, and Trowa was getting awfully pissed about hiding it from Heero. Trowa was a pack animal, and he didn't like any secrets or mistrust among us, his pack. Heero's secret had hit him harder probably than the rest of us. It was Sunday night just after sunset when we had the celebration. There was food but we were all a little tired so we simply curled up on the couches and waited for Heero, who was still sleeping. Wufei was curled in the armchair, absently stoking Wing's head. Wufei was probably the most anxious of us all to get back to his life. After all, he was just settling into his relationship with Zechs. It seemed to me that they were just close enough for Wufei to miss him, but not close enough for FeiFei to bring him along. But that, along with trust, would come in time. Wufei was nothing if not cautious about his feelings, but he was terribly loyal to those who were close to him.  
Quatre and Trowa were curled together on the sofa, Quatre in Trowa's lap and Scythe in Quatre's. Those to looked so peaceful together that it only made my longing more bitter. Would Heero and I ever have that? Or would the truth only separate us more? I had just gotten him back, could I bare to lose him again? Should I simply be happy with what we had? But I couldn't do that. Honesty was crucial between partners, and lovers. I was sitting on the love-seat, waiting until I was sure Heero would be awake to go and get him. He was still weak enough that we had to keep him in the cellar lest the light get at him. I sighed impatiently. I wanted to get it over with, whatever I decided to do. The anxiety of waiting was harder to bare than anything. The room was well lit even though it was night. There was a soft song playing in the background, and cool summer breeze drifted through the open windows. It was almost picturesque, like a scene from some kind of brochure.  
Something stirred behind the house and the back door opened. I came alert abruptly, narrowing my eyes but not moving as the back door closed. Wing and Scythe shifted their heads but didn't seem alarmed. I instantly relaxed as I saw Heero stumble in from the kitchen. He looked half asleep and exhausted from his walk, but I knew better than to go and help him. Lately I could tell that he had been doubting his own skills, so helping him would only be an insult. Instead, I called to him softly.  
"Hey, buddy. How ya been? Ya wanna sit down over here?" I asked motioning to the seat next to me. Heero looked at me, then stumbled over and collapsed in my lap. I stared at him for a moment, then pulled his lower half off the floor so he was sitting totally in my lap with his head resting on my shoulder. I smiled softly and stroked his back, but the feeling of eyes on me brought my attention back to the room only to find that everyone else was staring at us. Their reactions varied, but they had all known about the crush I had on Heero. Quatre winked at me while Trowa blushed and looked away. Wufei rolled his eyes, but was grinning anyway. Running a hand through Heero's tousled chocolate locks, I prayed that he would be able to accept me. 


	6. Chapter 6 Heero

I remembered walking up the stairs and to the house after I woke up. The longing to see Duo overcame me and I had to get to the house, even if it hurt me. I remember seeing Duo sprawled languidly on a small couch, then nothing more. The first thing I felt as I drifted out of sleep was how comfortable I felt on whatever the warm thing was beneath me. Second was the hands gently running over my back and through my hair. Third, was the smell of Duo that engulfed me, lavender and sugar almost, but with a hint of something more exotic. I opened my eyes to meet his violet orbs and smiled at Duo. My Duo. I reached out and gently touched his face, running my finger across his cheek. And then I was suddenly very aware of three sets of eyes that were on us. I gasped and looked into the faces of Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. Of course, how could I have forgotten they were here?  
And they knew my secret, yet they helped me. Why?  
"Heero, ya hungry? Me an Trowa just went hunting, if you need some blood," Duo offered. My body was begging for some fresh blood and I realized that I could smell it in the room. I looked over to the table set up near Trowa and Quatre and found that it was covered in a grotesque meal. A pitcher filled with blood was surrounded by wine glasses. A tray of sliced cubes of raw meat stood next to it. It was all way more than I could eat alone, and even if it was only animals, it was going to go to waste. "Duo, I don't eat raw meat," I growled, glaring and pulling away from him. He went to say something, but Trowa interrupted him. "Yeah, but I do," Trowa said, snatching up a piece of meat and tossing it into his mouth before glaring at me. I gasped and blinked at him, forgetting to close my mouth again in shock. "Trowa!" Duo yelled, standing. "What?" Trowa hissed also standing. "I said I'd tell him, there's no reason for you to be so blunt about it"  
"You had you're chance to tell him all week, Duo. You were just going to keep putting it off! He's not frail, Duo, we went through the war together! I think he can handle this"  
"Barton!" Wufei barked, entering the argument, "You are letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement. Yuy came to Maxwell, Maxwell cared for him, it is Maxwell's decision when and how he should be enlightened in the matter"  
Duo slowly backed out of the argument, figuring that Wufei could give Trowa a tongue lashing as good as anyone. Quatre wasn't sure what to do, part of him wanting to defend his lover and the other part was ready to help in the tongue lashing for Trowa's crude behavior. But Trowa and Wufei were the real spectacles. As the argument grew more heated and closer to physical violence, the boys' bodies began to go through subtle changes. Trowa's hair, usually neat except for his bangs, began to get unruly and turn a deeper shade of brown. His hands seemed to adopt claws instead of fingernails and his teeth sharpened. Mean while Wufei's hair began to lengthen and his skin began to shimmer like scales reflecting the light. He also adopted a set of claws. When the first blow was thrown I saw the biggest change. Both of them had tails! Trowa's tail was a brown wolf tail while Wufei's was a green, scaley lizard tail. That wasn't normal. That wasn't human. They weren't.  
Before my mind could make that last jump I threw myself off the couch and backed away, trying to get away from them, trying not to see the truth. Duo saw my action and was instantly at my side, concern on his face, trying to calm me. "Knock it off, you two!" he yelled over his shoulder, but was ignored by everyone but Quatre, who started to come over. I felt a change in Duo, who was kneeling at my side, and looked up to see that the pupils of his eyes had turned to slits. He looked back over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes, and it suddenly seemed as if an energy pulse had hit the room. Trowa and Wufei were throw against a wall and Quatre was knocked on his butt. The room went quiet. "What was that for?" Trowa asked, some of his anger dissipating. It was Quatre who answered. "To get you two to shut up, that's what! Can't you see you're scarring Heero"  
"Heero? Hey, you Ok?" Duo asked me, his face just inches away from mine, "Hey, come on, let's go into the kitchen and talk"  
I couldn't! I couldn't stay. It was all happening too fast. It didn't seem real. It was like a nightmare. Could that be it? Was I still having a fever dream? It seemed more logical than the current situation. Pushing away from the wall I bolted out the back door at my highest vampiric speed, leaving the others behind me gaping in shock. Trees and bushes flashed past me, but I couldn't stop running. If I stopped running I would have to think, and if I thought about it, I might decide this was real. Then the voices started. For a moment I thought I was going mad, but I felt normal, so I dismissed the thought. I had been close to madness before, and that was very different from this. Still, that did not detract from the other's voices in my head, talking to one another, but never to me. Trowa, can you sniff him out?  
No, Duo, his scent's not strong enough. If he'd slow down, maybe, but not at this speed. Did you tell Quatre to wait at the house in case he came back. Yeah. He says Heero's mind's too frantic for him track.  
And who's fault is that?  
Maxwell.  
Yeah Wufei? You see him?  
Not yet. I'm going to search the caves on the side of the mountain. He may have gone there if he planned to leave for a while. I'll be out of your range. We'll have Quatre call for you when we find him. Good luck. A dragon does not need luck. I have no idea how long I ran, but all the while I could hear Trowa and Duo in communication, telling each other good places to look. Finally, after what seemed like hours, my legs gave out and I collapsed at the base of a tree in a small clearing. Even though the sun would be rising soon, I was too tired to move. Too tired to care. Something flew overhead, but was gone by the time I looked up. Duo's ecstatic exclamation resounded through my head. Trowa! I found him!  
Where?  
The field in the valley about half a mile from where you are. I'm coming. And Duo?  
Yeah?  
Be careful.  
Heero would never hurt me. Heero wouldn't, but a vampire would. Heero has been a vampire for as long as we've known him.  
And he's always been dangerous. Like you're so cute and cuddly. Quatre thinks so. I'll have to talk to him about that. Later. The communication was abruptly cut and something seemed to land in the bushes next to me. Duo emerged, shirtless, and moving slowly toward me like I might run away again. Like I actually could. When he was close enough, Duo plopped down next to me against the tree. "Hey," he said quietly. "Hn," I replied, not sure of what to say. Duo chuckled sourly. "Don't tell me your going back to that again. I've gotten used to the Heero who uses whole sentences"  
"The Heero that's a vampire"  
"... yeah, that Heero. The one who felt so bad about drinking blood that he dedicated god-knows-how-long to a stupid war in order to become human again. That Heero"  
"I have questions," I told him flatly.  
"So do I," he replied instantly.  
"Are you going to tell me what I want to know"  
"I never lie"  
"But will you tell me the truth"  
"I promise I'll tell you everything, but I need to know about you too. Ok"  
"Yes"  
"I suppose you already know that Trowa and Wufei aren't human. Neither are me or Quatre"  
"What are you all?" I wondered, somewhat stunned. Duo, however, took it in his stride.  
"Trowa is a werewolf. Wufei is from an ancient race of creatures that can turn fully or partially into dragons. He may be the last of his kind. Quatre is telekinetic. A common belief is that telekinetics are human, but they're not, they're just very closely related to humans and they don't transform into anything. I'm Shinigami"  
"A God of Death. But what is that"  
"It's sort of an ancient race of vampires. For vampires, the older you are the stronger you get and with age comes new powers and transformations. Shinigami is the last stage of vampirism, but we're so old that we almost fall under the demon category"  
"So... you're a type of vampire"  
"Strictly speaking? Maybe. But I guess I'm really not all that different, just a lot older. So yeah, I sort of am. A rare breed of extremely old and powerful vampire"  
"So...your a vampire too?" I asked again, trying to get my mind around it.  
"In a way. It's different for me, because of all the new things that my body can do. But, yes, strictly speaking, I'm a vampire just like you, Heero." Duo-Vampire. Vampire-Duo. Duo the Vampire. The Vampire Duo. Vampire the Duo. Duo was a vampire. He wouldn't leave me. Ever. Not alone ever again.  
It was almost too much happiness for me to take. And I was suddenly very sleepy. I let my head fall against Duo and closed my eyes, but he shook me awake. That was when I realized that Trowa had arrived while I was off in my own little world. "Heero, you can't go to sleep yet. You haven't had any blood, and I don't want you getting sick again," he said, and from the look on his face and the tone of the voice I could tell he wasn't certain I could hear him. He turned to Trowa. "We need to get some blood in him now. There's no way to get him back to the house in time and there's nowhere dark enough for him now. We don't have time to hunt so I'll just let him bite me and you can take him back to the house," Duo said, then reached for me. Trowa stopped him. "What do you think you're doing, man?" Duo asked sharply. "You haven't fed tonight. You don't have enough blood in you to feed him. I gorged myself earlier, so he can bite me and you can take him back. You're faster anyway. Pass him here," Trowa commanded. Duo looked from me to Trowa then reluctantly draped me across Trowa's lap. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to take blood from either of my friends, but I really needed it and I couldn't move, so I really didn't have much of a choice. Trowa placed his wrist to his lips and nipped it, causing a small gash which he put in my mouth. Trowa's blood was a lot like Duo's, if a bit more gamey. That's when the sun came up. I hissed in pain as it burned my skin, though through the blood it came out more like a gurgle. "Ah, dammit," Trowa curse as he tried to get himself between me and the light. But Duo was already on top of it, kneeling in front of us and spreading two wings from his back that blocked the sun. Two, huge, gorgeous black wings. As I stared at them, time seemed to melt away and the next thing I knew, Trowa was handing me over to Duo. "Take care flying with the two of you," Trowa warned. "Don't worry, I can fly with a lot more weight than just Heero here. Make sure you don't get lost on the way back to the house. Quatre 'd kill me," Duo joked. And with that said, Duo jumped into the air and flew back to the house, with me pressed against his chest. The flight was so peaceful, and with Duo being so close to me, I drifted off to sleep. 


	7. Chapter 7 Duo

I landed in front of the house not to long after sunrise, Heero still clasped in my arms, asleep. I folded my wings back into my body and entered the house. Quatre and Wufei rushed to meet me. I assured them both that Heero was fine and Trowa was on his way home. I carried Heero into the den and grabbed some blood before settling on the couch, Heero across my lap. It took almost an hour for Heero to wake up, not that I was surprised after all that running around he did. Trowa was already back and we were all seated in much the same way we had been before. Asleep in my arms, in the soft light of the den, Heero looked so young and innocent. To most people he would be a monster and a murderer, an assassin who killed millions, but how could that compare to a God of Death? And besides, Heero really couldn't have killed that many people as a vampire, he simply wasn't old enough. If he had been older his powers would have let him know that we were not human. But then again, he was old enough to shield that fact from us. Or maybe we just didn't want to see it. Maybe we were all hoping that there had finally been born a human who was as powerful as the demons that walked the Earth. Maybe we helped him hide that fact ourselves by excusing his odd behaviors and not probing too deeply into his mind. We thought we were protecting a human from being tainted, but were we really just isolating Heero on accident? If we had found out his secret, what would have happened? Would we have accepted him? Would he have run?  
I guess it really doesn't matter now, I thought looking down into Heero's sleep-relaxed face. Heero awoke slowly and gave me the most dizzying smile when he saw my face. I smiled back and he turned his head to look around the room. This time he didn't seem bothered by the fact that Trowa had a tail and Wufei had huge scaly wings. It was still a little disorienting to him, obviously, but he didn't seem afraid, merely curious.  
While Heero reoriented himself, I tried to figure a polite way to ask him where he came from. You know, just the general questions, like his entire past and family history. Wufei beat me to it. "Alright, Yuy. I'm sure Maxwell has told you a bit about all of us, now out with it. Where the hell do you come from and how were you able to hide so well?" he asked bluntly. I reflexively tightened my hold on Heero, lest he panic and run again. He looked up at me, amusement in his eyes. "It's alright, Duo, I'm not going anywhere." Yeah, not ever, if I have my way, I added silently. I loosened my hold, but I couldn't quite bring myself to let go. Heero didn't seem to mind, though. Wouldn't have mattered if he did, because I wasn't letting go, but he didn't.  
"As to where I came from, I was born on Earth in Japan. My parents both died in a car crash and I was taken in by my uncle, Odin Lowe. He was an assassin, or more like a hired gun who mainly worked for drug dealers. Life with him was hard, but he treated me alright," Heero said, then paused in memory. After a moment, he continued. "Then one night, he came home from a shooting. I remember it was really late and I had just come out of my room still in my pajamas. I was the same age I am now, but I was a child. My body is still the same age, but my mind is older now. I was"  
"You were a child then," Wufei put in. "If anyone can understand what it is to have your body be young and your mind be old, we can. There's no need to explain to us," he said. Heero nodded. "These two weird guys followed him and he just had time to push me in the closet before they broke down the door. I watched from the closet as the drank his blood and killed him. I wanted to help him, but I knew better. I was unarmed, and they were bigger than me. My uncle had always told me that he would probably be killed in his line of work, and not to die because of it. I thought I'd be able to abide his wished. I thought they didn't see me and I might be alright if I stayed quiet, but when they were done with Odin they came right for me," he said, pausing again. This seemed hard for him, but I could only comfort him by running his back. I didn't want to say anything for fear that he wouldn't be able to speak again. After a moment, he began again on his own. "I don't remember much about them. Only that one was a blonde and the other had brown hair. The blonde yanked me out and held me in front of him while the other came over and ripped off my top, saying how nice my skin was and how pretty I looked ready for bed. I knew they were going to kill me too, so I dropped to the floor and grabbed my uncle's knife and started cutting them. They were so surprised that it took them a minute to unarm me and by then I had already made some shallow cuts in them. They grabbed me again in much the same fashion, the blonde behind me and the dark haired one in front. The blonde bit me from the back on the left side of my neck and the other bit me on the right. The pain was unbearable. Then all of a sudden, the dark one let go and pushed the blonde off. He grabbed my head and held it to a cut I made on his arm and said, "Here, if you want this so bad, take it." He laughed and made me drink his blood. My body started to change. I think I fainted." Heero stopped again, and for a moment I thought he'd finished, but the story wasn't over, as much as I wished it was. "When I woke up I was on the ground. There was blood all over me, from myself and the vampires. They were talking, but I was too tired to listen. That's when the wall exploded and these big guys in capes came charging in and slaughtered the vampires. They either didn't see me or thought I was just another dead body, because they didn't kill me. Knowing what I did of vampire legends, I pulled myself down to the basement before sunrise. After that, I started drinking blood and hiding in abandoned buildings. My knowledge about my new powers came slowly. It was almost a year before I realized I could go out in the sun and a few years before I realized I didn't always have to kill my victims. That was how Dr. J found me. He had been looking for a vampire to put in operation meteor, but he knew he'd need someone young without much experience"  
"You mean without a clan," I couldn't help but interject heatedly. A fledgling out on his own without any protection from the rest of his clan? That was unheard of! Apparently the vampires decision to turn Heero had been spur of the moment, other wise the rest of his clan would have tracked him down. To be all alone at that stage.  
"What?" Heero asked me, looking confused. It startled me out of my thoughts. I tried to laugh it off.  
"Oh, sorry. It's just that...umm... the vampires that turned you, they did it because they were mad, right? It didn't seem like they planned it"  
"No, why"  
"Well, it's just that vampires aren't supposed to just turn humans, they're supposed to consult with the rest of their clan so that even if the master vampire dies, the fledgling...the newborn vampire will have some protection"  
"What's a clan? What's a master vampire"  
"Most vampires are like... well... like wolves and werewolves. They live in small secluded groups. Sire and fledgling is the way vampire lineage is traced. The sire is a vampire old enough to make a fledgling, and a fledgling is pretty much that vampires child. It's the sire's responsibility to care for the fledgling until it matures into a full vampire"  
"Oh"  
"A clan is never supposed to leave a fledgling of a clan member. They adopt it until it grows up. Either your clan didn't recognize you or"  
"Or they were all destroyed," finished Trowa. "Or maybe Heero was never supposed to survive at all. Maybe the vampires were playing with him. Vampires are known to be sadistic like that." Trowa and I glared at each other for a moment. Hostility levels in the room began to rise. Heero and Quatre both nervously looked back and forth between us. Heero's heartbeat began to pound against my chest. Then we both just quit, knowing that this kind of contest wasn't going to solve anything and was making our loved ones worry. I guess it was instinctual, the both of us glaring. It was like the growling of dogs. When both dogs realized that neither were going to make a fight, the point of growling disappeared. "So, Heero, what happened then?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Heero sat up, so that he was only sitting half on my lap and his arms were wrapped around my neck, and leaned his head on my chest.  
"Yes, go on," Quatre seconded. "Dr. J caught me and penned me up for a while. He finally came in to see me and brought a man with him. The man was tied and gagged. I fell on him in an instant. I didn't mean to, but I killed him. After it was done, I started crying. Dr. J said that I needn't cry. He said that if I served him and got rid of all my emotions and let him use me, then he could turn me human again"  
I gasped. Wufei looked startled. Even Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Oh Heero," Quatre said sympathetically. Everyone knew that there was no way to turn a vampire human again. It was impossible. Just how little did Heero really know?  
"I-I thought he could turn me back. I thought I'd be human again. But when he captured me and kept making me... making me.. I knew I wouldn't...wouldn't..." Heero's voice was laced with pain. He had his eyes slammed shut and was biting his lip while clenching his fist. I quickly wrapped us both in my wings so the other's couldn't see and let him cry his tears into my chest. I held him and rocked him until he was done and even a little after, then folded my wings back so we could continue to "Origins of Heero" discussion.  
"Heero, listen closely to me know. No one can turn a vampire into a human. Understand? Anyone who says they can is lying. Alright?" I told him seriously. Heero nodded sadly. I turned to everyone else, "Any more questions"  
"Yuy," Wufei called, "how old are you? How long did you spend in training"  
"I spent about twenty years in training. I spent fifteen by myself before Dr. J. I was sixteen when I was turned. I spent five years with all of you and it's been three years since then.. So I'm close to sixty years old. I was around fifty-one when Operation Meteor started"  
"An infant..." I heard myself gasp. Heero was barely a vampire, just out of the fledgling stage. It took me a moment to realize that everyone was staring at me.  
"What"  
"Duo, I realize that all of us have elongated life spans, but if fifty is young, what age is old?" Quatre asked. "My age is probably considered old"  
"And how old are you"  
"Hey wait a second! When the heck did this become "Question Duo," huh! Besides, I don't see any of you volunteering your life spans here"  
"As you know, telekinetics can live as long as they want by switching bodies. I, however, have never done that. I'm seventeen," Quatre volunteered. Wufei went next.  
"As you know, Dragons can live forever. I am currently the oldest Dragon alive at seventeen also, because of the destruction of my clan"  
"Oh man Trowa, don't tell me your seventeen too!" I said desperately. I was starting to really feel my age. "No, Duo, as werewolves can live forever I am nearly eighty years old"  
Well that didn't make me feel much better. Not a single person here had hit the triple digits. Crap!  
"Alright Duo, your turn," Heero commented determinedly. "Do I really have to tell"  
"Yes!" came three voices at once. I sighed. "Alright, you all know that we've simply been using this after colony 196 system for the past 200 years, right. Well, I was born before that," I told them, hoping that would be enough. Three of the people around me were shocked. Heero either wasn't or didn't show it. "How long before that?" he asked. "I was born in the early 1700's around the Elizabethan age. That time period lasted a while, then gave way into this one"  
"How long?" Damn Heero's curiosity. "About 3000 years"  
"What!" Wufei yelled, "Do you expect me to believe that you are nearly 1500 years old"  
"Believe it or not, it's true. Actually, that's how I got my funny accent. It's a mix of British, New York, and Brooklyn. The places where I used to spend the most time"  
"Well, I guess by that standard Heero is young and your just a horny old man!" Quatre giggled. I couldn't help but blush and tried for a change of subject.  
"At least it explains why we couldn't sense Heero," I said. Trowa was suddenly very interested. "How"  
"Vampires don't show many visible signs until they are out of the fledgling stage. Heero just recently changed"  
"I don't feel any different," Heero commented.  
"That's not unusual. The change from fledgling to vampire is so subtle that most people don't notice it unless they're looking. It's like vampiric puberty. You won't know when it starts but you'll sure as hell know when you're in the middle of it"  
I found it a good time to cast knowing and threatening glances at Trowa while the others digested this information. I stopped when I felt something heavy leaning against my chest. Heero had unconsciously began to curl up in my lap, his eyes were glazed over in exhaustion. Without missing a beat, I stood, scooping Heero up in my arms. "C'mon Hee-kun, let's get you back into bed before you get sick again," a crowed, smiling brightly and trying to lighten the mood. Heero just sighed. "I don't understand why you're so concerned with my health. It's not like I can die. You know that"  
"Look, bud, don't think you're totally immortal just because you have fangs. You can still die if you get your head chopped off or your heart ripped out or poisoned too. But the thing is if you get too weak you'll go into a coma. All vampires do it when things get to much for them, they just lie still until they can't move any more. Then you stop noticing the things going on around you, you sort of turn in on yourself. You replay things you did in the past, things you wanted to do, things you wish you'd done. It's not pretty, it's like your own little piece of Hell if you have a past like mine. You wake up sooner or later, but it's a long time and I'd rather not have to wait any longer, ya hear"  
"How long"  
"Always straight to the point, huh? Sometimes ten years, twenty, up to a few hundred. It all depends on what goes on around you and whether or not your disturbed and if you want to wake up or not"  
"I wouldn't be out long at all then. I wouldn't want to stay out now that I've found you"  
"I'd rather you weren't out at all"  
"Alright Duo. Let's go to bed"  
I bent and kissed his forehead before carrying him up the stairs. Once I had made him comfortable and ready for bed, I slipped under the covers with him and snuggled close. Heero's breathing evened out soon enough to tell me that he had been exhausted and I lay there with him in my arms, just basking the feeling. I hadn't had nearly enough of it when I had to leave him. But there were things that needed done before my love would be safe and we could start our new life. My perfect soldier of the night. 


	8. Chapter 8 Heero

I awoke to hear Dr. J's voice. Oh God, I thought, it really was just a dream!  
I slammed my eyes shut and desperately reached behind me for Duo, but he wasn't there. I had to repress a scream. Slowly, I forced myself to relax and noticed that, while Duo was not there, I was still in his bed. I took a deep breath, Duo's scent filling my nose and comforting me. Then I opened my eyes. The curtains were drawn so that as little light as possible could get into the room. I was alone in the bed with the blankets up to my chin. As I sat up I noticed that there was evidence of someone having slept next to me. Duo had been here. J's voice came again and I shuddered, fighting the urge to hide under the blankets. What kind of a coward had I become? What the Hell had happened to the Perfect Soldier?  
"Shinigami killed him in the war, J killed him after, and you killed him now," I thought coldly. I stood, the last remnants of sleep fading from my mind. I realized that there were voices arguing in the backyard and moved to the window. I opened the blinds a slit, letting a ray of light fall on my skin. It hurt, but didn't cause any damage, so I knew I was strong enough to stand the sunlight. I pulled the curtains and gasped at what I saw there. First was Dr. J standing in the middle of the back yard, looking angrier than I'd ever seen him. Second was the forty men behind him carrying guns and holding back more of those huge monster dogs. Third was the other pilots, lined up and ready to face them, Duo leading the way. Duo would be killed! There was no way they could stand up to that many soldiers alone! I had just found him, I wasn't about to lose him now!  
I scrambled out the window and down the roof of the house to some bushes on the ground below. If I could just take J out, maybe his troops would fall apart. It was a long shot, but it was my only hope. From the bushes, I could hear Duo and J bantering. "So, Doc, what brings you here?" Duo said lightly, pretending he didn't know. "You know exactly what brought me here, 02. You will release the pilot 01 into my custody immediately"  
"Whoa! Now let's just hang on a sec. What makes you think I have Heero here anyway"  
"He was tracked here by my guards and you are one of his closets comrades. It would only make sense that he would come to you"  
"You know, I don't think comrade really describes my relationship with Heero. I mean, it's so damn hard to get past that icy exterior of his and make friends," Duo said. It was another of the half truths and evasions that Duo was known for. Lying without lying. I could almost hear Duo smuggly saying, "but I did it." "Enough of these distractions 02! You will turn over Heero Yuy to us!" Dr J continued, enraged and undeterred. "And what if I don't?" Duo replied, completely and blatantly unafraid. "Then he will be taken by force"  
Duo smiled evilly, the Shinigami smile. "I'd like to just state for the record that I am giving you all the chance to run for it here. I'm not going to let you have Heero. If you think you can get past me, go ahead and try"  
"Why are you protecting him? He's not even human"  
"Yeah, but neither am I," Duo retorted. That caught J off guard and he hesitated, which he had always taught me was the first thing that could get you killed. I hoped the same was true for him. Suddenly Duo frowned and the space around him seemed to get darker. The entire area buzzed with power. A wind kicked up around Duo and suddenly his wings burst free. But that wasn't all, as his skin paled until it was almost translucent. He grew long fangs and the skin on his hands and feet became thicker and darker, like protective gloves. Duo wasn't wearing anything but his pants, so I could see the muscles in his arms and chest become stronger and more defined. The finishing touches where his claws and a long tail that swished back and forth behind him agitatedly. When he opened his eyes, they were red with slitted pupils. He was terrifying. He was powerful. He was gorgeous. He was mine.  
Then all Hell broke loose. I couldn't tell if J gave the order or the men just moved at once, but all of a sudden the dogs were free and everyone was running at Duo. I rushed from my hiding place to try and help, but found myself restrained. I looked over to see Quatre and Wufei holding me back. I threw a pleading look at Wufei, but he just shook his head. I tried to struggle out of their grasp, but the two of them were too strong for me. I screamed incoherently before the guys managed to pull me away from the fighting and back to the bushes. All I could do was watch helplessly as the soldiers attacked Duo. The first attackers were the demon hounds, who leapt at Duo. An almost invisibly fast swing of Duo's tail knocked them all the way across the lawn, splattering them on the ground. Three of the soldiers ran at Duo, slashing at him with their knives, but Duo dodged them by jumping into the air and flying behind them. Once behind them he attacked, shooting fire from his hands to incinerate them. A few of the men lined up and began firing, but Duo hid behind his wings. Small sprays of blood formed where ever the bullets hit, but didn't seem to do much damage. Duo's tail wiped around and hit the soldiers from the side, caving their heads in. Pushing his wings behind him, Duo threw himself at a group of soldiers who were heading for us. Using his claws, he ripped them limb from limb. It was then that the rest of the dogs jumped him, piling on him so that he completely disappeared from view. I screamed and tried to struggle to him again, but was still restrained. In a moment he burst free, throwing the dogs away from him in a flurry of movement. Some of them were still clinging to his body, while others that hadn't been thrown so far shook themselves and attacked again. His tail whipped around him, trying to keep some of the dogs at bay, while his claws worked frantically to pry the dogs off. I was horrified to see that Duo was starting to weaken. Then suddenly there was someone at his side, tearing the dogs away and someone else tearing apart the others. Absently, I recognized Wufei, green scales adorning his body, claws, horns, wings, and a tail all in green scales, and Trowa, dark brown fur covering his lithe frame, glowing yellow eyes that shifted to take in everything, and a bushy brown tail. With Duo now free and Wufei and Trowa backing him up, they finished off the rest of the soldiers in minutes. But I knew they hadn't gotten J. He had run off into the forest at the first sign he might lose. I also knew the I didn't want one of the other's going after him. He was mine. I managed to catch Duo's eye. He understood.  
"Wufei," he called, "I think one of the soldiers might have hid in the house. Do a perimeter search for me, Kay"  
"Weak cowards," Wufei muttered as he headed toward the house. "I have something I have to do," Duo said loud enough for everyone to hear it, then jumped into the air. He threw a look at me that I read as, I trust you Heero, you had better bring your ass back here safe! Then flew off in the other direction. With Quatre tending Trowa's wounds and Wufei in the house, I had a clear opening. Slowly, so as not to draw attention, I maneuvered myself into the forest and then set off in a run. Dr. J was pathetically easy to track, even if I hadn't been using my vampiric senses. I found him scurrying through the underbrush still trying to get away. There were no words exchanged between us. There was no toying with my prey. I made my presence known by snapping a twig loudly. J whirled around and looked at me, a mixture of fear and loathing on his face. I had always known he hated me, but when I thought he was going to turn me human it hadn't mattered. Now I hated him right back for it. I reached out and grabbed his head, twisting it until I heard the bones snap, then let his limp body fall to the ground. It was so easy, and yet I found myself oddly regretful. I really hadn't needed to kill him, I hadn't needed the closure. After seeing Duo and all of my friends fighting to defend me I knew that they would never let anyone hurt me again. J was just one more body on my conscience, nothing more. Slowly, I walked back to the house. When I got there, Quatre rushed at me and demanded to know where I was. I simply told him that I had something to take care of and collapsed in a chair. Quatre, thankfully didn't pursue me. I sort of spaced out, having too much to think about at one time. So it took me a while to realize that someone was staring at me. I looked up to see Trowa looking at me with a sort of loathing on his face. And that was when I realized. Trowa hated me. That was what he and Duo had been fighting about. Me. Trowa was a good friend. He meant a lot to do, and I didn't want to lose him either. Losing him would mean our group would break up, because Quatre would follow him. Wufei would remain neutral between the two sides, but our... family would never be complete again. All because of me. Before I had time to say anything, there was a huge explosion from outside. We all rushed out to see what had happened. There was smoke rising form the direction of the base I had been held at. Then it dawned on me. Duo had gone to destroy the base, to destroy the last remnants of the nightmare I had gone through. But was he ok?  
I could only wait to find out. It seemed like forever before I spotted Duo in the sky, but in reality it wasn't very long until Duo flew over the trees and into the yard. He was mildly injured and visibly tired, but he managed to make a graceful landing before collapsing into a heap. 


	9. Chapter 9 Duo

After blowing up the base that I had come to refer to as Nightmare Land, I remember getting home and landing. After that everything gets blurry, but I remember being carried into the house, washed, bandaged, and put to bed. I just can't remember who did what and what order things were done in. Oh hell, I can't even remember if it was my house we went into and, at the time, I couldn't care less.  
The first thing I realized was that I was extremely comfortable and didn't want to move. The second was that there was something moving beneath me. Peaking open one eye, I saw Heero gazing worriedly at me. "'Morning," I greeted him. In a suddenly flurry of movement, he pulled me from where I was lying next to him with my head on his shoulder into his lap and hugged me as tight as he could without hurting me. I let him hold me. One, because I knew he was scared to lose me and that he needed this reassurance that I was alright, that in some way he was protecting me. Which he was, Heero was my only protection from the cold loneliness I had faced before. I didn't want to be alone again. And Two, because I needed it. Because I needed to be wrapped in his embrace and assured he was still here, that I hadn't let anything get to him. Did he know how scared I was that something would get past me and hurt him? Did he know how frantic I was to get out from under that moving mound of dog bodies just to make sure he was alright? Did he realize that it had almost killed me to let him go off on his own after one demented doctor, just in case something might happen? And did he know that I had destroyed that entire base, taken all those lives, because I was afraid of the off chance that they might regroup and come back?  
No he didn't know what a coward I was and I was glad. We had all eternity for him to find out, no need to spoil the moment now. I drifted in and out of sleep resting on Heero's lap for what must have been hours before I remember something. "Heero," I called softly, though he awoke with a start anyway.  
"What's wrong? Do you need something?" he asked, the worried look returning to his face. I smiled. "No, but I just remembered that I have something of yours"  
"Can't it wait"  
"No! It's in the top of the closet. You'll have to get it, I don't know that I can right now," I said, referring to that total state of exhaustion my body was in after creating a fireball big enough to burn a two-mile radius. Heero nodded and gently slid out from under me. To my ever lasting annoyance, I found that at the time I was too weak to even stand up, so I had to turn myself the so I could see the closet. I could see Heero as he reached into the closet on his toes and pulled out his bear, and I could see the most innocent look of wonder and joy light up his face when he looked at it. That made it all worth it, even the years alone. "Duo, how did you..." he trailed off with a voice of wonder. Oh yeah, the down side, I thought biting my lip and turning my head. "I-uh... I sort of hid it from those guys who came to get your stuff. I didn't think they should have it," I said, wondering if he'd get mad enough to hit. "Thank you," Heero said. "You're not mad"  
"No, why would I be"  
"Well, I took your bear and I thought you might have wanted it"  
"I wouldn't have had it anyway, Duo. They didn't actually give me any of my stuff, they just put it in storage. I'm glad you had it, I know you took care of him," he said, then a sadness penetrated his eyes and it was his turn to look away and bite his lip, "A-and you're not too mad about the bike, right? I-I'm sorry I didn't bring it back but"  
"Shh," I whispered, pulling him against me, "I don't care about the bike, you know you're more important. Besides that, I'm the one who blew it up"  
"Well, no, I don't think you did. You see I stole it and rode it a few mile on the road to get some distance, so it should still be ok," he said hopefully. I laughed. "Then what are you worried about? Someday, we'll go and get the bike and fix it up, no harm done. But not today, and probably not tomorrow," I said, snuggling against Heero and getting ready for sleep. It was probably an hour later when Quatre called to inform us that lunch was being served in an hour, with or without us. So, regretfully, I hauled myself out of bed and out of Heero's warm grasp. That was when I realized that, though I was cleaner than I had been when I landed, I was still dirty. "Hey Heero, I'm going to take a shower," I called to him as he began to get up. I couldn't help but ask him, "Ya wanna come"  
Heero blinked in surprise, then turned red and looked at his feet. "Duo I..." he trailed off, embarrassment getting the best of him. I walked up to him and gently kissed the bridge of his nose. "It's alright, we don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. I've waited 1500 years for you, I think I can wait a little longer"  
"Not too much longer," Heero said then gently brushed his lips against mine. Even that barest of sensations was enough to send me reeling. Enough for Heero, too, because he turned four shades of red then darted down the stares. I walked into the bathroom with a smile on my face, thinking about the last comment of his. 


	10. Chapter 10 Heero

I had finally calmed down from my encounter with Duo in the bedroom. Quatre was making lunch, and Wufei was meditating. I realized that this might be my only chance before they all left again. I found Trowa out on the back porch, watching some birds. He turned when I stepped out, giving me an icy glare. My question was quick and to the point. "Trowa, why do you hate me"  
Trowa's face immediately lost that icy glare and went first to a look of surprise, then to a look of sadness and embarrassment. He turned back to the birds and I went up beside him, leaning on the porch rail. "I don't hate you," he almost whispered, "but I do hate vampires"  
So I had prejudice against me. "You see, my family was attacked and killed by vampires when I was young"  
Hatred.  
"...and before I became a werewolf, I was a vampire hunter"  
Vengeance.  
"...so not knowing for all that time that you were a vampire showed me that I really had lost all my skills as a vampire hunter"  
Wounded pride. Quite a lot of reasons for him to hate me. "...but I don't hate you. I hate vampires"  
"But Duo's a vampire and you never hated him"  
"Heero, you've seen what Duo looks like transformed. He's too old to really be a vampire. And even as a vampire hunter or a werewolf, he's too strong for me to think about fighting. He's even overcome the need to feed, because he can take the energy from a dying person's body, like an energy their soul leaves behind, and he uses it to nourish himself. I've seen it"  
"I don't know what you want me to do. I can't become human, I've already tried. And I can't make you stop hating me"  
"I already told you, I don't hate you. I've been friends with you for too long to hate you. I know you're a good friend and I don't want to lose you...or Duo, who's been sending me glares that want to rip my eyes out all week. I'm ok as long as I don't think of you as a vampire. As long as I still think of you as the perfect soldier, I'm alright"  
"But I'm not the perfect soldier anymore. I've lost that," I said sadly. Trowa paused a moment, then turned and headed back to the house. "Sure you are," he called over his shoulder, "you're Duo's Perfect Soldier"  
I let that sink in for a moment. Yeah. Duo's Perfect Soldier. I could handle that. I could love that. I could live with that. Well, sort of. The End 


End file.
